Boot and shoe assemblies

ABSTRACT

The sole and heel portion of footwear is made of plastic reinforced with steel hooks around the perimeter of the sole detachably engageable by an upper portion by means of a flexible wire attached around the perimeter of the base of the upper portion so that a plurality of sole and heel portions can be provided together with a selection of upper portions all of which can be readily interchanged by the user. The device can be used for boots, shoes, rubbers, overshoes and the like.

United States Patent 1 Flottorp May 28, 1974 1 BOOT AND SHOE ASSEMBLIES [76] Inventor: Thomas Flottorp, 207 Argyle St.,

Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada [22] Filed: Mar. 5, 1973 21 Appl. No; 338,142

52 US. Cl 36/25 0 [51] Int. Cl A431) 00/00 [58] Field of Search 36/25 C, 2.5 W, 2.5 R, 36/50 [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,200,080 5/1940 Fein 36/25 W 2,438,711 3/1948 Loach et al. 36/25 C 2,761,224 9/1956 Gardiner 36/25 W FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 512,04] 8/1939 Great Britain 36/25 C Primary Examiner-Patrick D. Lawson Attorney, Agent, or FirmStanley G. Ade

[57] ABSTRACT The sole and heel portion of footwear is made of plastic reinforced with steel hooks around the perimeter of the sole detachably engageable by an upper portion by means of a flexible wire attached around the perimeter of the base of the upper portion so that a plurality of sole and heel portions can be provided together with a selection of upper portions all of which can be readily interchanged by the user. The device can be used for boots, shoes, rubbers, overshoes and the like 4 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures PATENTED HAY 28 I974 III/III FIG.

FIG. 3

FIG.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to new and useful improvements in the construction of boots, shoes and the like and although a shoe construction is shown and described in the accompanying drawings, and specification, nevertheless it is to be appreciated that the invention is applicable to any form of boot and shoe construction and includes overshoes, rubbers, work boots and in fact any form of footwear with the exception of footwear in which the uppers merely consist of a few strips of material.

Conventionally the footwear is manufactured in one piece so that a separate pair of shoes or boots is required for different purposes.

The only way the upper portions can be changed is by means of dye or paint but this is not satisfactory.

Furthermore it is sometimes difficult for the wearer to obtain a shoe or boot construction which is exactly suitable for use with his or hers particular foot.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention overcomes all of these disadvantages by enabling firstly a user to locate a sole and heel portion which is particularly suitable for use with the wearer or, alternatively to have one custom made. The wearer may then purchase a plurality of upper portions of various styles, materials and the like any one of which can be detachably secured to the sole and heel portion readily and easily.

The principal object and essence of the invention is therefore to provide a device of the character herewithin described in which the upper portion is detachably securable to the sole and heel portion so that a plurality of same may be interchanged at will.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a device of the character herewithin described which includes means to waterproof the connection between the upper portion and the sole and heel portion.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a device of the character herewithin described in which the junction between the upper portion and the sole and heel portion is not particularly visible any more than the present permanent connection is visible.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a device of the character herewithin described which is simple in construction, economical in manufacture and otherwise well suited to the purpose for which it is designed.

With the foregoing objects in view, and such other or further purposes, advantages or novel features as may become apparent from consideration of this disclosure and specification, the present invention consists of the inventive concept which is comprised, embodied, embraced, or included in the means. method, process, product, construction, composition, arrangement of parts, or new use of any of the foregoing, herein exemplified in one or more specific embodiments of such concept, reference being had to the accompanying drawings in which:

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. I is a side elevation of a sole and heel portion with the upper portion shown in phantom.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged cross sectional view of the sole and heel portion of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary plan view of a portion of the sole portion of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a side elevation of the upper portion per se.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged cross sectional view along the line 55 of FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged fragmentary view showing the upper portion engaged with the sole portion.

FIG. 7 is an enlarged fragmentary isometric view of one edge of the sole with the hooks shown.

In the drawings like characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the different figures.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Proceeding therefore to describe the invention in detail, reference should be made to the accompanying drawings in which a shoe construction is shown. However as mentioned previously, this is illustrative only and is adaptable for use with any form of footwear with the exception of footwear which includes strips of material for the upper portion.

FIG. I shows a sole and heel portion collectively designated l0 and FIG. 4 shows an upper portion collectively designated 11.

The sole and heel portion includes a planar sole 12 together with a heel 13 secured thereto. Preferably the sole may be manufactured or rubber, leather, or plastic as indicated in FIG. 2by reference character 14 and covered by a relatively thin upper sole 15 of flexible material which once again can be leather, fabric or plastic as desired.

Extending all around the perimeter of the sole I2 is a hook assembly collectively designated 16 and shown in detail in FIGS. I, 3, and 7.

This assembly comprises a plurality of individual hooks I7 manufactured from flat relatively narrow spring steel and include hook portions 18 and leg portions 19, it being observed that the hook portions I8 are relatively short and are situated in a plane above the legs !9 which extend inwardly therefrom.

The inner or what might be termed the open ends 20 of the hook portions 18 are preferably curved downwardly slightly and when in position, face inwardly from the perimetrical edge and upon the upper side of the sole I2 and are spaced just above this upper side as clearly shown in FIG. 2. The hooks are placed around the perimeter of the sole l4 whereupon the upper sole 15 is adhesively secured in position or, if necessary, stitched to the sole 14 thus holding the hook assembly firmly by the legs 19 which are sandwiched between the sole portions 14 and 15 as clearly shown.

A flexible plastic strip 21 is also secured between the soles l2 and 15 and covers the hooks 16 all around the perimeter so that the hooks are hidden and waterproofed. This strip is attached to the hook portions by adhesive.

The upper portion 11 may be manufactured in any conventional way but of course is open based and around the perimeter of this base is situated a flexible wire 22 covered by a strip of cloth-like material 23 which loops once around the wire and terminates in the flanged portion 24 which is adhesively or stitchably secured internally of the perimetrical base 25 of the upper side wall 26 of the portion 11. This construction is shown in FIG. 6 although stitching is not illustrated.

In operation, this fabric covered wire is snapped under the hooks 19 which are covered externally by plastic 21 all around the perimeter of the sole 12 thus securing the upper portion firmly to the sole and heel portion and sealing same against the ingressive moisture. Furthermore the weight of the user during use assists in maintaining this seal.

In order to detach the upper portion 11 it is merely necessary to press same inwardly by the lower edges thereof so that the wire 22 disengages from the hooks l9 whereupon the upper portion can be removed and a further portion can be engaged.

Various modifications may be constructued or performed within the scope of the inventive concept disclosed. Therefore what has been set forth is intended to illustrate such conept and is not for the purpose of limiting protection to any herein particularly described embodiment thereof.

What I claim as my invention is:

l. A footwear construction comprising in combination a sole and heel-portion and an upper portion, means around the perimeter of said sole and heel portion, and means around the lower perimeter of said upper portion detachably connectable to said first mentioned means to detachably secure said upper portion to said sole and heel portion, said first means taking the form of a plurality of resilient hooks secured to said sole portion and having the open ends thereof directed inwardly of said perimeter, said second means taking the form of a relatively thin flexible wire secured around the perimetrical base of said upper portion and being detachably engageable with said hooks.

2. The device according to claim 1 which includes means to secure said wire to said perimetrical base of said upper portion, said last mentioned means including a length of material wrapped around said wire and terminating in a flange secured to the inner surface of said perimetrical base of said upper portion.

3. The device according to claim 1 in which said hooks include hook portions and leg portions extending therefrom, and flexible plastic means covering the outside of said hook portions all around the perimeter of said sole portion for waterproofing the junction be tween said upper portion and said sole portion, said upper portion being snap engageably and disengageable to and from said sole portion.

4. The device according to claim 2 in which said hooks include hook portions and leg portions extending therefrom, and flexible plastic means covering the outside of said hook portions all around the perimeter of said sole portion for waterproofing the junction between said upper portion and said sole portion. said upper portion being snap engageably and disengageable to and from said sole portion. 

1. A footwear construction comprising in combination a sole and heel portion and an upper portion, means around the perimeter of said sole and heel portion, and means around the lower perimeter of said upper portion detachably connectable to said first mentioned means to detachably secure said upper portion to said sole and heel portion, said first means taking the form of a plurality of resilient hooks secured to said sole portion and having the open ends thereof directed inwardly of said perimeter, said second means taking the form of a relatively thin flexible wire secured around the perimetrical base of said upper portion and being detachably engageable with said hooks.
 2. The device according to claim 1 which includes means to secure said wire to said perimetrical base of said upper portion, said last mentioned means including a length of material wrapped around said wire and terminating in a flange secured to the inner surface of said perimetrical base of said upper portion.
 3. The device according to claim 1 in which said hooks include hook portions and leg portions extending therefrom, and flexible plastic means covering the outside of said hook portions all around the perimeter of said sole portion for waterproofing the junction between said upper portion and said sole portion, said upper portion being snap engageably and disengageable to and from said sole portion.
 4. The device according to claim 2 in which said hooks include hook portions and leg portions extending therefrom, and flexible plastic means covering the outside of said hook portions all around the perimeter of said sole portion for waterproofing the junction between said upper portion and said sole portion, said upper portion being snap engageably and disengageable to and from said sole portion. 